Chapter 49: The First Trial

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The First Trial

The countdown to the unified regional academy entrance examinations ticked down to its final days.

Perched at his wooden desk in the quiet attic of Sunshine Home, Eric glanced down at his wrist. A bold notification flashed across the holographic projection of his silver smartband:

`[UNIFIED ACADEMY ENTRANCE EXAMINATION — REGISTRATION PORTAL OPEN]`

"Right on time," Eric murmured.

He tapped through the verification prompts, uploaded his awakened citizen identification, and cleared the mandatory examination fee without hesitation. A heartbeat later, an encrypted, glowing barcode manifested above his wrist with a crisp digital chime:

ADMIT TOKEN: #RD-88421

Candidate: Eric

Examination Center: Riverdale Testing Pavilion

Biometric Authorization: VERIFIED (Soldier Rank Lvl 1)

Status: Confirmed

This encrypted token was his non-transferable passport into the testing grounds. Without its active frequency synced to his smartband, the military-grade mana barriers enclosing the testing pavilion would bar him at the courtyard gates.

Over the preceding three weeks of relentless hunting in the jagged ridges of the Parva Mountains, Eric’s discipline had yielded staggering returns.

Between harvesting crystalline Soldier-rank mana stones, draining vacuum-sealed vials of Eyestalker vitreous fluid, severing dense Gauntreaver bone shafts, and turning in bounties, his account balance had skyrocketed to a breathtaking 5,000,000 credits.

It was an unimaginable fortune for a commoner tamer from the edge of the slums.

Coal had likewise reaped the rewards of constant life-and-death combat and a steady diet of high-purity Soldier-tier cores. Under the steady influx of refined energy, the crow had cleanly breached his first internal bottleneck, reaching *Soldier Rank Level 2*.

With ample funds finally at his disposal, Eric had retired his shredded explorer gear and commissioned a tailored, professional combat kit: an enchanted suit of midnight-black scout armor crafted from the reinforced hide of a shadow-drake.

The fitted set consisted of high-traction mountain boots, supple mana-conductive grip-gloves, a light protective tunic lined with kinetic-dampening silk, a low-profile hood, and a reinforced utility belt where the pale-blue sheath of the Wavecaller rested firmly against his left hip.

Standing before the mirror in the corner of the attic, clad in seamless, dark leather from collar to heel, Eric no longer carried the posture of a desperate orphan scraping together coppers for food. He looked every inch the part of a cold, lethal, high-tier skirmisher.

"Everything is set, Coal," Eric smiled, tightening the silver buckles along his forearms. "The trials begin in forty-eight hours. Let’s make every second count."

***

Two days flew past in focused preparation, and the morning of the nationwide entrance trials broke cold and clear over Riverdale.

Unlike provincial skirmishes, this trial occurred simultaneously across the entire nation, spanning sprawling metropolitan capitals and remote frontier settlements alike.

The evaluation was divided into two distinct, rigorous phases: first, a standardized theoretical examination testing beast biology, planar ecology, and tactical theory; second, practical field trials where raw combat lethality, survival capability, and beast synchronization were judged under real fire.

Once the cumulative scores were tallied, qualifying candidates received official regional rank standings, granting them the privilege to submit formal admission applications to their desired academies.

However, the margin for error was unforgiving.

Each candidate was strictly capped at three academy applications. If all three institutions rejected a student’s portfolio, whether due to saturated quotas, factional politics, or talent bias, their qualification for the entire academic cycle was permanently voided, forcing them to wait an entire grueling year before testing again.

*Even with a high overall score, picking the wrong three academies could leave me completely stranded,* Eric reflected as he walked through the towering bronze gates of the Riverdale Testing Pavilion.

*Still, I don’t have to stress about the theoretical phase. With the Myriad Beast Encyclopedia mapped directly into my mind, a written exam is essentially an open-book test.*

Eric recalled Coal into his spiritual beast space with a quiet pulse of intent, passing smoothly through the hum of the perimeter mana barriers.

The main testing hall was a massive, tiered amphitheater partitioned into hundreds of isolated desks, each equipped with an encrypted holographic terminal. A dense crowd of nervous candidates occupied the seats. Most were eighteen-year-olds fresh out of basic schooling, though several carried the hardened, weathered expressions of nineteen- and twenty-year-olds, repeat test-takers who had failed in prior cycles and were staking their final youth on this run.

Eric located his assigned cubicle, settled into the chair, and rested his hands flat on the desk.

*BZZZZ.*

The central runic clock above the proctor’s stage flared crimson, initiating the countdown: *3 Hours, 00 Minutes.*

The digital exam populated his terminal screen with a soft ping. Eric scrolled through the prompt headers with a steady, clinical gaze:

*Question 14: Detail the glandular vulnerability of an adult Frostscale Viper and outline the optimal alchemical neutralizer for its corrosive bile.*

*Question 29: Analyze the harmonic frequency disruption that occurs when a high-density Shadow beast clashes directly with an exterior Light-aspected barrier.*

To an ordinary applicant who had spent years memorizing rigid, generic textbooks, these hyper-specific elemental reactions and hidden anatomical weak points were nightmarishly dense.

To Eric, however, the answers unspooled from his memory with microscopic clarity.

Tapping the glass interface with calm, rhythmic precision, he breezed through intricate cross-sectional anatomy diagrams, planar migration paths, elemental counter-equations, and alchemical synthesis charts without a fraction of hesitation.

Just sixty minutes into the testing block, Eric keyed in the final analysis of the structural degradation of abyssal bone weapons.

He ran a cursory three-minute scan over his answers, pressed the flashing green submission tab, and pushed back his chair.

*SCREEECH.*

The sudden scrape of chair legs against the polished stone floor resonated like a gunshot through the dead-silent hall.

Hundreds of pale, sweating examinees snapped their heads up, staring at Eric in wide-eyed shock as he stepped calmly into the central aisle. Muffled whispers broke out across the rows like a bursting pipe.

"Wait... is he walking out already?"

"It’s a three-hour paper! He’s leaving after sixty minutes?!"

"He definitely gave up. Look at those planar ecology questions, the guy must have left his sheet blank."

"Silence!" the lead proctor roared, slamming a heavy, leather-bound register against the central podium.

A heavy wave of suppressive Soldier-peak mana rolled across the amphitheater, crushing the whispers under physical weight.

"Any further disruption will result in immediate disqualification and annulment of your testing token! Keep your eyes on your terminals!"

The hall dropped into absolute silence, every candidate hastily lowering their heads to resume their frantic scribbling against the clock.

Pushing through the heavy bronze double doors into the crisp midday sunlight, Eric stretched his arms wide and exhaled a relaxed breath.

"Well, that went smoothly," Eric chuckled softly to himself, glancing across the courtyard toward the fortified arena grounds where the practical rings were being prepared.

"I should easily lock down a top-three placement for the written bracket, if not outright first. With that score secured, even a standard showing in the practical will cruise me comfortably into the academy selection pool."